NYPD detective who was stabbed in the Bronx speaks out: "I have a second chance at life"

An off-duty NYPD detective who was stabbed in the Bronx earlier this month spoke out Tuesday, expressing gratitude to the people who helped save his life. 

Det. Jose Mercedes was stabbed repeatedly on Oct. 2 on East 206th Street and Rochambeau Avenue.

Police say a gold chain that was a gift from his mother may have been the target of a robbery. 

"The first thing I want to do is thank God. I have a second chance at life," Mercedes said. 

Mercedes said he was stabbed 10 times during the attack. 

"I was on vacation, I was on my day off, and I was not expecting this," Mercedes said. "It was a very, very scary sight to me. I've been investigating crime for a long time, and at this time, I just wanted to enjoy my vacation, my time off. I wasn't expecting this."   

Mercedes said he told his alleged attackers in both English and Spanish he was a police officer. 

"They didn't care," he said. 

D'Angelo Rafael Jean Caraballo and Sneider Mejia Bautista were arrested in Massachusetts last week in connection with the stabbing. They were extradited to New York to face attempted murder charges. They are expected to be arraigned on Wednesday morning.

"We brought them to justice. Now, they need to do 25 years to life for doing what they did," said Scott Munro, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association.

The Department of Homeland Security said both men are originally from the Dominican Republic and are in the U.S. illegally.

They are accused of leaving the detective bleeding out in the road after stabbing him during an attempted robbery, before fleeing on an e-bike.

Mercedes, who attempted to chase down the suspects on he collapsed, said he was "so confident" that the suspects would be brought to justice.

Mercedes said he was aware that he was bleeding heavily after the attack.

"All I really want to do is say thank you to all those people that assisted me and allowing me to stand today," Mercedes said.

Mercedes went on to thank a civilian who called 911 after the stabbing. He thanked the first responders who came to assist him.

"I almost died," Mercedes said. "I'm going to be forever grateful to those people that day that saved my life."

Mercedes said he's still in recovery and is working on regaining mobility in one of his arms. He hopes to return to the force as soon as possible.